Berhampur: After the final list for reservation of Zilla Parishad seats was out, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has started looking for suitable women candidates.
While 36 ZP seats have been reserved for women from general, and SC and ST categories in Ganjam district, the party has begun an exercise to pick up women candidates on the basis of their leadership ability, public acceptance and winnability in the upcoming panchayat polls, a report said.
There are 69 ZP zones in the district. Significantly, more women in the district are keen to take the plunge in politics and the ruling party is working out to give them wider berths in the upcoming panchayat elections.
It may be recalled that after the Zilla Board was abolished in 1997 in Ganjam, Zilla Parishad was introduced.
In the first election, the post of ZP chairperson was reserved for women (general category) and Renubala Pradhan was elected as ZP chairperson on the backing of Janata Dal.
Though Janata Dal had no majority in the Zilla Parishad, it managed to grab the ZP chairman post with the help of the BJP, Independent and CPI members.
After 25 years, the ZP chairperson post has been reserved for women candidate (general category) in the 2022 panchayat elections. In the 2002 panchayat elections, the ZP chairperson post was reserved for male candidates (general category).
Then BJD district unit president Rebati Mohan Nayak was elected as the ZP chairperson. In the 2007 panchayat elections, the ZP chairman post was reserved for SC category and youth leader Dharani Behera was elected as the ZP chairperson.
Later, he was embroiled in a controversy and was ousted through a no-confidence motion. In the byelection to the post that followed, Kamaraju Sethi from Gopalpur was elected to the post.
In the 2012 panchayat elections, the ZP post was meant for male (OBC). Surath Pradhan (BJD) of Kabisuryanagar was elected as ZP chairperson. In 2017, the ZP chairman’s post was reserved for male (general category).
However, due to political pressure and with efforts of then higher education minister Pradeep Panigrahy, Subash Chandra Behera (SC candidate) was elected to the post. Subash was a loyalist of Panigrahy.
In 2019, Subash was fielded as BJD candidate in Chhatrapur Assembly seat in 2019. After he was elected MLA, he resigned from the ZP chairman’s post.
In the byelection to the ZP post, Sonam Palei, a woman from Purusottampur area was elected as ZP chairperson. Now, two women are in the posts of ZP chairperson and vice-chairperson.
In the ZP elections between 1997 and 2017, women of general category were elected to the ZP post thrice. In the coming elections, the ZP chairperson post has been left for the unreserved category.
With 36 seats reserved for women, more women are keen to join politics, particularly with the BJD in Ganjam.
PNN